Taking your Pinterest, Etsy, and Instructable ideas and giving you the low down on the cost, the time, and the skills it takes to make these at home!

Saturday, July 12, 2014

DIY Cooling Pack That Won't Freeze!

Whelp, it's officially summer! The season for kids to fall off their bikes, runners to pull a muscle, and me to sweat my tail off. What do these things have in common? Ice packs. Sure, you could put some ice in a bag but it won't last very long because the ice will melt and sometimes the bag won't confirm to the shape you need it to. So I decided to take this tip from Ziploc's website and make my own cooling pack, which is awesome because in this California heat and lack of air conditioning, it'll be used almost daily!

Mix three parts water to one part rubbing alcohol - I used 3 cups of water with 1 cup of rubbing alcohol. Next, add your food coloring (completely optional). 5 drops of blue did the trick!

And if you want to get fancy, a little glitter never hurt anyone.

Close up the bag and squeeze until all the ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together. Place it in your freezer until you're ready to use it!

I left mine in the freezer overnight and it was just as malleable as before!

If you're using this to cool yourself down in the summer months, the best places to put it would be your neck, armpits, groin, or behind the knee. Wherever an artery is close to the surface, you'll want to place the pack so you can keep your core temperature down. Keep cool and stay safe everyone!

TOTAL COSTS: About $4
$2.99 for box of Ziploc bags
$.99 for rubbing alcohol
Food coloring and glitter already on hand, both optional

TOTAL AMOUNT OF TIME: Less than 5 minutes to assemble + 1-2 hours in the freezer

EASY-PEASY SCALE (1 super easy - 5 very difficult): 1 out of 5
This is very easy to put together and keep in the freezer. However, I might recommend duct taping the edges, as sometimes the water tends to try and leak out when you aren't looking!